3M Combat Arms Earplugs Lawyer

The Defective Product

Manufacturer: Aearo Technologies and 3M (3M purchased Aearo in 2008 for $1.2 Billion).

Product Names:

• 3M Combat Arms Earplugs
• Dual-Ended Combat Arms™ Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2)

Supply Dates to US Military: 2003 to 2015

Discontinuance Date: November 17, 2015

Quantity Supplied to Military: The exact count is under investigation because Aearo and 3M entered limitless Indefinite-Quantity Contracts with the US Government. A 2006 contract proposed a minimum supply of 500,000 pairs and estimated the maximum number supplied could total as high as 2,250,000 pairs.

Overseas Deployments: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia and Djibouti, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Somalia, Syria, Turkey, Uganda, Yemen, etc.

Other Involvements: routine training use; air base and military base use by all branches; regular use by service members in the Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy.

How the device worked: 3M Combat Arms Earplugs claimed to offer service members the benefit of two distinct types of earplugs in one unit. The Yellow (Open-End) was intended to protect against loud impulse noises while allowing the soldier to still hear critical verbal commands. The Green (Closed-End) was intended to provide constant noise protection for heavy machinery and other constant loud combat scenarios.

Design, Specifications, and Testing:

• The initial complaint alleged Aearo/3M rigged product testing to make Combat Arms Earplugs seem more effective on paper to the military than the earplugs actually performed in real life.
• Filings allege Aearo/3M fraudulently claimed its testing met ANSI and other material regulatory standards for ear protection the government required in its bid process.
• Filings allege Aearo/3M submitted additional false claims about the effectiveness of Combat Arms Earplugs in subsequent years to renew the contract and continue its exclusive supply of defective ear protection to the military.

Yellow (Open-End) Defects:

• Filings allege Aearo/3M fraudulently claimed a 0 decibel rating on the yellow open-end, and claimed this plug would allow the soldier to hear critical spoken and other audible commands in the field with the earplugs inserted while still protecting the soldier from unexpected and intermittent loud explosions.
• In reality, this end did not function as promised. It reduced decibel levels and made it more difficult to hear critical commands.
• Company testing on the open-end did not comply with mandatory standards and actually resulted in a facially invalid -2 decibel result (a negative result implies an “amplification” effect).

Green (Closed-End) Defects:

• Filings allege Aearo/3M fraudulently put forth a 22 decibel reduction rating on the closed-end and claimed this end would provide a constant level of ear protection during continued high noise combat situations.
• In reality, a known design flaw in Combat Arms Earplugs limited the amount of protection the closed end provided by approximately half the protection rating.
• This flaw unknowingly exposed soldiers to significantly greater amounts of potentially damaging noise in combat.